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Shabir Shah floats new party, calls for tripartite talks to solve Kashmir tangle

Separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah today announced the formation of a new party, and called for tripartite talks among India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris to solve the Kashmir problem.

''We will work for permanent peace. We earnestly feel that there is a serious need to review our course of action,'' Shah said while launching his party, the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party.

Admitting that he had failed to bring together all separatist leaders under one roof, Shah said there was no wisdom in binding oneself blindly to an emotional approach. ''It gives nothing except distancing us from our logical objective of a meaningful dialogue for evolving a permanent, just and lasting solution to the Kashmir problem.''

He said the solution must be in consonance with the aspirations of the people of the state.

He said for a permanent, peaceful and lasting solution, it was essential that the people of the state be provided with an atmosphere free from pressures, whether internal or external.

UNI

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